Installing a New Kitchen Sink Faucet

It has been 8 months since I finished making over my kitchen. You may remember that I painted the cabinets and counters and replaced the ceiling light, cabinet knobs, sink and faucet. I posted all about it, here.

Kitchen Makeover DIY

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The new faucet was the same model faucet I had in my previous house. I liked the styling and the fact that no hands are needed to turn it on. It is a Single Handle Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet with Touch2O® Technology

The Touch2O® feature is wonderful when your hands are covered in food from food prep or in my case, paint from the many projects I paint weekly.  To turn the faucet on, you simply touch any part of the faucet with your elbow… no hands needed.

What are the extra holes for in a sink?

When it came to finding a new sink though, my decision wasn’t as easy as sink design has not caught up with trend of one-stem faucet design.

how to cover extra holes in a sink when your faucet is a one stem design

Most sinks still come with 3 pre-drilled holes. One for the faucet and the other two for the hot and cold knobs. If your faucet is single stem and you have a sink with more than one hole, you will need sink deck or hole covers.

How to close up a hole in a sink

This is what I used to cover up the holes I didn’t need.

Under sink Kitchen sink soap dispenser installation

They are not ideal since they are raised which make it hard to place anything along the back of the sink.

At the time I made over the kitchen, I didn’t realize that there was a matching Touch2O® soap dispenser that would fill one of the holes and un-clutter the area around the sink since I would not need to have the dish detergent bottle on the counter anymore.

Delta-H2O-Faucet-and-Soap-Dispenser-in-Chrome-review

I just installed it last week.

One sink hole cover is still needed to cover the third hole, but having the Touch2O® soap dispenser has uncluttered the sink area and does create a ZEN-like quality to the art of dishwashing for items that don’t go in the dishwasher. :-)

The thin faucet on the right side of the sink is our drinking water faucet. Our water is very hard and tastes awful. We had a Reverse Osmosis unit installed to filter the water to remove impurities and improve the taste.

Installing a Delta Touch2O® Soap Dispenser

Everything you need to install the soap dispenser comes in the box, even the batteries.

supplies needed: 

Delta-Traditional-Soap-Dispenser-for-sink-in-Chrome

The instructions are easy to follow. It took less than ten minutes for me to install it.  The hardest part was cleaning out underneath the sink so I could reach to screw in the bottom of the dispenser and soap bottle under the sink.

 how to fill an Delta electronic-Soap-dispenser

Once installed, you fill and refill the soap or in my case the dish detergent by simply turning and popping off the top and using the funnel that comes with the dispenser.

Delta-Cassidy-soap-dispenser-and-faucet-in-Chrome

Place the top back on and tap anywhere to start the flow of soap or use the Hands-Free Technology option.

How-to-use-a-Delta-H2O-faucet-and-soap-dispenser

I am using the hands-free option where you can simply wave your hand in front of the sensor to dispense soap. You can also adjust how much soap you want to dispense with a few tweaks of the base unit.

Kitchen-sink-soap-dispenser-in-Chrome

I considered adding another dispenser for hand soap to fill the other hole, but there is not enough room under the sink to house the bottle.

I like how the dispenser provides function, clears up some clutter while adding a matching design element to the sink area. My only wish now is I wish I could simply just wave my hand and have all the dishes done. Maybe some day technology will answer this wish.

More Kitchen Makeover Ideas:

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31 Comments

  1. Mary Wilson says:

    Hi,
    You have assisted me with so many pieces of information to help as we work on our home with very little DIY skills.
    We are working with a small budget, and your site is very helpful. You gave me the courage to keep my ceiling fans,
    and use swivel chairs.
    We plan to refresh our kitchen with a painted countertop and new sink. I am having difficulty finding a drop in or top mount sink. What brand did you purchase and where? Any other tips for regarding sink and faucet replacement? I am shopping for a stainless steel sink and faucet.
    Thanks,
    Mary

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Mary –

      It was hard finding a deep single bowl stainless sink, but I found it at Home Depot. It is made by Koehler. Here is the link: http://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/7512646/type/dlg/https://www.homedepot.com/p/KOHLER-Verse-Drop-in-Stainless-Steel-33-in-4-Hole-Single-Bowl-Kitchen-Sink-K-RH20060-4-NA/206889102

      Any faucet should work since it has the holes pre-drilled for all types. You can use hole covers to close up any that you don’t need for the style faucet you get.

      Thanks for reading my blog, you made my day when I read that I gave you the courage to paint your ceiling fans and use swivel chairs. :-)

  2. Marvis Burdette says:

    I’m about to undertake a kitchen makeover project and I love the faucet and big open stainless steel sink. I currently have a white double sink and I can’t stand it. I think I’m going to steal your idea for this one. Love it!!!!

  3. Just down-sized into a smaller home, trying to decide the kitchen remodel. Your cabinets look fabulous, your kitchen is inviting. Love the sweet dish on the sink for your scrubber. May I ask where to find one?

  4. Beautiful faucet. I have a delta faucet as well and love it but would love to get another one with the touch-less feature!

  5. Really clever by Delta and the kitchen still looks stunning.

  6. Hi, can you remind us where you got your light fixture? Also, are you liking having the open shelves?

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Liz –

      I bought the light at Wayfair, but I do not see it anymore on the site. I did find it here: http://amzn.to/2ye8kEM

      I love the open shelves, so does my husband. The way the counter is in an L shape under the open shelves makes it so easy to get to the dishes. When the cabinet doors were on, we would have to take a step back to get out of the way of the door swing. It made getting and putting away dishes much harder than it had to be. For cleaning, every so often I take a damp paper towel and go over the shelves where dust does accumulate. Since it is white, you don’t see the dust, but I know it is there. :-)

  7. Julia@Cuckoo4Design says:

    Oh my gosh looks so good. I need a hands free soap dispenser now too. I have a delta one but it’s not hands free.

  8. I don t know if would work for you but, on Amazon they have the endless dispenser that has long tube and you set the bottle on the floor of cabinet. That way you can use a large bottle and don t hae to refill as often.

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Lou – Thanks for the idea. I will head over to Amazon now to look for it.

  9. robbie lennox says:

    All amazing choices and finds! It’s easy to install and super versatile.

  10. Romeogirl says:

    Are you going to do a blog on reverse osmosis systems? Did they need to drill another hole for that stem?

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Romeogirl –

      I hadn’t thought about doing a post on the RO system. I am not sure there would be enough interest, but I can do a post. We have had it now for about a year a half. It made a HUGE difference in our water quality and taste.

      We had to have a hole drilled in the previous sink that was in the kitchen when we bought the house and before I made it over. The installers of the RO system did that. On the new sink I bought when making over the kitchen, the hole was already in the sink. It was a 4-hole sink. It was probably designed for a sprayer.

  11. Norma Rolader says:

    Very nicely done! Your kitchen is amazing

  12. What is the name of the items you used to plug the holes you did not use? I am sure not hole pluggies haha! Thanks!

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Debe – They are called “Sink Deck Hole Covers” or simply “Sink Hole Covers”. I linked to the ones I used that I bought at the Home Depot. The link i sin my post: You can find them here:

  13. Sheryll & Critters. says:

    I was going to ask if it is as hot up there, as here? If so, I have a recipe for you.

    Peel & slice a banana, freeze it, then put in blender with a touch of milk or cream. Makes wonderful ice cream!

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Sheryll – YES!! It feels like August and is super humid. I was in Charlottesville, VA over the weekend and it was sticky and hot there too. I want Fall to come back!!! Your recipe sounds delish. I have a banana whip maker. It is called a Yonana. It makes something like you make but you don’t need milk. I don’t eat dairy. You freeze bananas and then let them thaw for about 10 mins then push them down a tube in the machine and it makes whipped bananas that taste like ice cream. I add cocoa to make dairy free chocolate ice cream. :-) I hope you are staying cool.

      1. Sheryll $ Critters. says:

        Wonderful that you have a special tool to make ice cream. You don’t have to use the dairy, but you already make banana ice cream! It is good!

  14. Sheryll & Critters. says:

    I’m with everyone else with adding another dispenser but if it won’t fit, oh well.

    I’m jealous! I too, want the new faucet and dispenser!! Some day maybe.

  15. Sharon Favre says:

    I was going to suggest sorta the same thing about adding another pump on the other side and maybe putting hand lotion in it or something but if you don’t have room, that wont work. Maybe you could come up with some type of container that has a raised underneath part that would sit over the raised area on that side.

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Sharon – Thanks for sharing this idea. I will have to get my thinking cap on to come up with something. Hand lotion would be nice to have right at the sink.

    2. This was my thought too. I always have dish soap out for stubborn stuff before going into the dish washer and I have a pump of hand soap for our hands when cooking raw meats…so my thought was another pump and add either lotion or another type of soap! No more covers.

  16. Love the clean way your sink and faucet look. I have wondered where bloggers drain their dishes or pans they wash by hand. There never seem to be any dish drainers in any pictures on the blogs I follow. I have tried to find a place to store mine but it takes up a good bit of space and is used quite often so it is a hassle to store it. There are several things use on a daily basis that can’t go in the dish washer so I need somewhere to drain those items.
    Just wondered.

    1. Hannah Macmillan says:

      Ginger, I have the same problem. I use a drying mat I put next to my sink to dry my cast iron frying pan. The mat is grey and matches my countertop. Not the perfect solution, but I can live with it.

    2. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Ginger –

      I have a small dish drainer, but rarely use it. It is and chrome rack with a clear drainer that goes to the sink. I can remember to put it out the next time I take do a project in my kitchen. I do bring it out when we have people over to place all the pots and pans on that can’t go in the dishwasher. Since it is just my husband and I most of the time, most stuff goes in the dishwasher. For the items we wash by hand, I usually dry them right away or place on a towel to dry.

  17. I have a Delta Touch2O faucet, too, though a different style. The soap dispenser came with mine though it is not touch-free. I still love it as I don’t need to keep my hand soap dispenser on the top of the sink. My dish soap is kept under the sink as I wash my hands more often during the day than I do dishes.

  18. Carla from Kansas says:

    You could add a 2nd one and put hand lotion in it.

    1. Diane Henkler says:

      Hi Carla – I would love to add another dispenser, but there is not enough room under the third hole to house the bottle. :-(